by Cathie
Sercombe
A few weeks
ago, my husband and I gave our garden some overdue attention. We felled weed
trees, removed deadwood and spindly branches, edited the overgrowth and carted
several trailer loads of green waste to the tip. Despite the hard yakka and the
potential for danger implicit in our task, the only casualty was my gardening
hat – brim and bonnet ripped asunder – an inevitable consequence of its age.
I’ve had that hat for forty years.  |
| Hat, Post, Landscape and Crow-bar |
Writers
wear many hats. After all, writing is not all we do. ‘What!’ I hear you gasp.
Of course, you know it’s true. What we do, is landscape our texts with the
experiences gleaned while we wear our other hats.
My
gardening hat probably lasted as long as it did because it doesn’t get a
work-out very often. I’m an occasional gardener, not a professional landscaper.
You might be an occasional writer, or a professional one. Either way, I bet
you’ve earned a few blisters and produced a few flowers – speaking
metaphorically at least.
Another
casualty of time is the post on which the hat sits – a tree root has displaced
it. I’ll have to put my trusty made-to-measure crow-bar to work and dig it out
so it can be replaced. It won’t be the first post-hole I’ve dug, or helped dig.
I’ve hefted that crow-bar to hollow out holes in the ground for 88 garden and
retaining wall posts on our property. Thinking about those posts prompted
thoughts about this one – so here are a few writing principles flavoured by my landscaping
experiences.
Preparation and
research are necessary, but don’t get carried away. The corner post (in the above corner under
the rose) was my first. Hubby measured, marked where to dig and I went for it.
I dug a whole lot wider and a whole lot deeper than I needed to, wasting time,
effort, and concrete. I applied moderation to subsequent digs.
The first written
draft is rarely perfect. It requires extra time and effort editing. Practice
leads to improvement, both in technique and end result. Even those
first drafts seem to get better the more you write. 
The wall at
the front of our property was 600mm high, which meant post-holes needed to be 700mm
deep to hold firm in our ‘plastic’ soil profile. Natural springs under the
footpath moistened the subsoil there, making it easier to dig. Behind the house
we had to dig 1200mm holes for our 1000mm high walls; the surface was already
one metre below the topsoil. The only way we could break through that clay, was
by first soaking it with water.
A short
story is different to a poem is different to a novel is different to a magazine
article; each requires materials, scaffolding and structure of the right type,
size and shape for the genre. The lessons learned writing in one genre enhance
writing technique and positively inform a variety of other writing formats. 
As much as we loved the look of our round koppers logs, they were difficult to work with; they had to be planed and chiseled and shaped to fit together and to fit the curve of the uprights. It was easy to get discouraged when progress was slow and tedious. Being prepared to try something different for the side and rear walls of the property allowed us to finish the job sooner and worked just as well.
Don’t
get stuck in a rut. If the current writing project is dragging on and going nowhere, try
something different. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Being a great children’s writer during the week doesn’t preclude you from
writing devotions on the weekend. Besides, varying the vista may bring fresh
insights and enthusiasm.
Not everybody will
appreciate the effort you put into your writing projects. They may abuse them or use them in
a way you never intended. We didn’t plant posts to feed termites! Then
again, your readers may get far more enjoyment from your writing than you ever
expected. I may not be happy when the neighbourhood mutts water our
front retaining wall, but my dog just loves neutralizing their efforts.
Any writing
project can seem daunting and overwhelming at times. Don’t get so stressed by the size
of the project that you forget to enjoy the process. One day, you’ll
look back and think, ‘Wow! I did that. And I enjoyed myself! I am awesome!’ and
you’ll be right.
Have your
gardening or landscaping experiences informed your writing? If so, why not share the nuggets of wisdom you’ve unearthed in the comments section below.
Catherine
Sercombe is a wife, mother of three, (they’ve grown up now), creative writing graduate
and published author from Queensland, Australia. She manages an education
business where she has the privilege of tutoring and encouraging students of
all ages to meet their academic goals. Described in publication as a ‘writer
whose work reflects an infectious love of language’, Catherine says, ‘From A to
Z, surely the best writing begins and ends in God. In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1-2). That’s an epidemic worth
spreading.’ 
